


Ten Times Jared Told Jensen He Loved Him, and One Time He Really Meant It.

by babybrotherdean



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Drunkenness, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Jared loves Jensen a lot, Kissing, M/M, it just takes him a while to figure out how much, time stamps
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-15
Updated: 2015-11-15
Packaged: 2018-05-01 18:04:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5215454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/babybrotherdean/pseuds/babybrotherdean
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jared's always been open about his affection, but it takes him a little while to realize just exactly what he feels for his best friend. </p>
<p>Ten times he's expressed love for Jensen, and the one time he finally meant it for real.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ten Times Jared Told Jensen He Loved Him, and One Time He Really Meant It.

**Author's Note:**

> Ahh, this was a lot of fun to write. Prompt from an anon.
> 
> "Prompt: 10 times jared said "I love you" to jensen and 1 time that he meant it"
> 
> This is a lot longer than I thought it'd be, but I'm happy with it. Enjoy!

_\- 1 -_

Jared’s twenty-three years old and he’s just met Jensen Ackles for the first time. He’s got a shy sort of beauty about him, and they’re waiting to be called in to hear the results of their final auditions, and Jared can’t stop talking.

“I mean, I’ve done shows before, but I just think this would be so much different, you know? The pilot sounds really cool, and I really like Sam, and I want to see where they try to take it and everything-”

And somehow, amazingly, Jensen doesn’t look annoyed. He doesn’t look bored. Maybe Jared hadn’t made as bad an impression as he’d thought ( _“is it my birthday?”_ might not work for all the people he meets, but Jensen had laughed, and he’d blushed, and wasn’t that just the sweetest damn thing?), and maybe he’s actually started this relationship off on the right foot. 

When they’re finally called in and the producers grin and tell them “we’ve got a show,” and everything’s suddenly so much brighter, he laughs and claps Jensen on the shoulder. Says “this is gonna be awesome, I can’t wait,” and then, as they’re leaving and Jensen notes that they’re sort of brothers now, so they should probably get used to that- “I guess it’s a good thing I already love you, then, huh?”

It’s a joke, but he’s grinning, and Jensen smiles back, and everything feels easy and right.

_\- 2 -_

Supernatural is an awful lot different than Gilmore Girls, and Jensen’s got a lot more experience than he does with the action sequences (Jared might be catching up on Smallville and Dark Angel to get his fill of his new best friend’s past work), but it never makes him feel inadequate. 

There’s gentle guidance as they work on the opening scene’s choreography, ducking and dodging and rolling with every punch like they’re a unit, like they can read each other perfectly- they’re supposed to be brothers, after all, raised in a dangerous life with no one to rely on but each other. Jensen tells him between takes that Sam and Dean are probably more like two halves of a whole than they are two separate individuals, and Jared can’t help but agree.

Once they’ve got the last bit down- Sam and Dean wrestling on the floor, pinning each other in turn while they talk- it doesn’t take long to shoot the scene. Jared can’t help his triumphant grin when he pins Jensen properly, almost forgets to deliver his lines. 

The scene rolls on, and Adrianne comes in to play out Jessica’s part, but as soon as the director calls cut, he’s absolutely beaming, kisses her on the cheek before hurrying over to Jensen.

“We got it!” he’s saying, and he sounds all of five years old with all the excitement in his voice, but finds he can’t bring himself to care. “You think it looked okay?”

Jensen’s smiling, too, and he nods, glances towards the cameras where people are gathering, rewatching their video and murmuring to each other. “I think it looked awesome. Felt good, right?”

“Really good.” His blood’s still pumping, and he almost wants to have to shoot it again just to relive the feeling. “Thanks for putting up with me. All my questions and stuff.”

“S’what I’m here for.” A pause, and Jensen purses his lips. “I mean, not technically, but why wouldn’t I help?”

“Doesn’t mean I love you for it any less.”

That gets another smile out of Jensen and a playful nudge. “Yeah, yeah. C’mon, you’ve got a scene to shoot with your girlfriend. Get a move on.”

Jared nods obediently and returns to where the director is directing him and Adrianne, but he’s still glowing with Jensen’s words and it’s tricky to slip back into character. Maybe he’ll get better at it with time.

_\- 3 -_

Filming goes off without a hitch. Jared feels like he’s met the best friend he was always meant to have, him and Jensen playing off each other like they’ve been close for years. It’s not hard to pretend to be his brother, to look at Jensen playing Dean and think _“that’s my hero. That’s my whole world. That’s everything I cared about growing up.”_

When September finally rolls around and it’s time for their show to air for real, they get together on the couch in Jensen’s apartment with a couple beers between them to watch the first episode. 

It’s everything Jared could have hoped for, and he finds himself mumbling along with some of his favourite lines, letting out soft sounds of amazement when he sees everything that’s been cooked up by the effects team. It ends too soon, and it leaves him aching for more, and it’s not until Jensen laughs that he realizes he’s watching the credits a little too intently, ready for next week’s preview. “What?”

“We were there, remember?” Jared glances over, and Jensen looks more than a little amused. “We filmed that. We read the script. You knew everything that was gonna happen.”

“Well, yeah, but…” Jared gestures vaguely, tries to figure out how to articulate what he’s feeling. “It looks so much different onscreen. Seeing it all come together. It’s cool.”

“Yeah, alright.” Jensen gives him a playful nudge. “Did Gilmore Girls even _have_ a special effects team?”

“Shut up, Mr. Action Man.” Jared nudges him back, can’t wipe the grin off his face. “At least I didn’t spend four hours of filming covered in mud.”

“Jealous?”

“No.”

“You’re the one who had to smell me.”

Jared snorts. “Yeah, well, I guess you’re just lucky I loved you enough not to puke.”

Jensen grins and grabs another couple beers from the cooler they’ve got by their feet, offering one to Jared. “Yeah,” he agrees, cracking one of them open. “Lucky me.”

_\- 4 -_

It’s May 18th, 2006, and the CW has officially picked up Supernatural for a second season. The press are excited, the crew’s already celebrated- and now Jared’s on Jensen’s couch with a celebratory pizza in front of them, a few beers in his system, and season one on TV to celebrate.

“Man, I was starting to get worried,” Jared sighs, settles back to stretch. “I hate waiting for this stuff. Not knowing whether or not we’re gonna have another season.”

“Yeah, guess we’re still small enough that they can make us agonize over it for a little while.” Jensen huffs. “Give it a couple years, they’ll start letting us know in February. That’s when it stops being stressful.”

“Guess so.” Jared’s eyes drift towards the TV for a moment, and he can’t help a smile as Jeff’s revealed to have been waiting in Lawrence. “You think we’ll make it that long? A couple more years?”

“Yeah.” There’s no hesitation, and Jared turns to look at Jensen. Their eyes meet, and Jensen’s smiling, looks thoughtful. “I think so. We’ve got something good.” A pause, and he adds, more softly, “Sam and Dean, I mean. They’ll go far.”

Jared can’t help but return the smile, and his chest is warm, and this is good. This is how things should be. “Guess it’s a good thing I love you, then. Wouldn’t want to hang out that long with a costar I didn’t like.”

“Good thing.” Jensen hums, leans forwards to grab himself another slice of pizza. “You think we can finish the season?”

“I think we already did.” A grin, and Jared gets good and comfortable. “So I figure it’s worth another shot.”

_\- 5 -_

“Someone _tackled_ you?”

“Yeah, someone tackled me.” Jensen sounds more amused than anything else. They’re speaking on the phone, separated by the Atlantic Ocean while Jared films The Christmas Cottage and Jensen takes care of their fans overseas. “She was just really excited, I think. Just wish they didn’t have to kick her out, you know?”

“Yeah, we all know you’re secretly a big softy.” Jared can’t help but smile at the tone of Jensen’s voice, because he knows how shy Jensen tends to be, sometimes, and it’s nice to know that he’s doing well by himself. “Everything else going okay?”

“More or less, yeah.” 

“Good, good.” Jared pauses, just smiles for a moment. “I’m glad you’re having fun.”

“It’d be more fun if you were here.”

A laugh, and Jared’s nodding, feels his chest ache a little bit. He’d tried so damn hard to make it, but his filming schedule was tight as it was, and there was no room to compromise for the convention. “Yeah, I know. Wish I could be.”

“Next time, maybe, yeah?” Jensen asks, and he sounds so damn hopeful, and Jared can’t help a smile.

“Duh. I love you too much to let you go by yourself again.”

“Dork.” But there’s a fondness to the word, too. “Good.”

“Yeah.” Jared smiles, imagines that for a moment, the distance between them is just a little bit shorter. “You’d better come back soon.”

“I will.” Another smile through the phone, and Jared hopes the weekend is over soon. “Promise.” 

_\- 6 -_

It’s supposed to be a serious scene between the brothers. They’re ready to head into battle, give it their all, put their lives on the line for the greater good- to fight off every damn demon surrounding the police station. It’s a climactic moment, charged with tension and emotions... but right this second, on this particular take, it’s one of those times that Jensen apparently just can’t help himself. 

“So what’s the plan?” 

“Open the doors. Let ‘em all in.” There’s a subtle shift in Jensen’s eyes, but his face stays completely straight, serious. “And then, we fight. Like men in tights.”

They share a long moment, eyes locked, expressions stoic. There’s no real cue, but they move as one, anyways, towards each other, into the sort of embrace that the Winchesters usually save for near-death experiences.

“I love you, Dean,” Jared says seriously, because it seems appropriate.

Jensen pulls back to give him another long stare, and then he finally cracks, a grin growing on his face. “You’re an idiot.”

“You started it, mister men in tights.”

That gets Jensen laughing properly, and the focus shifts to reshooting the scene.

_\- 7 -_

“Guess I just... don’t get it.”

Jared’s heart is heavy, and he’s rubbing a hand over his face, not quite looking at Jensen. He’s slumped on his best friend’s couch, feels kind of shitty for being here like this, but is mostly too concerned with all the other reasons he feels shitty to be worried about that.

“I mean... what happened? When did we start drifting apart?”

It’s not like he regrets that things ended with Sandy. They’re still friends; they parted on good terms, they didn’t fight, it was a mutual decision- but even _that’s_ getting to him. How long had this breakup been coming? How had he been so blind not to see it?

Jensen’s quiet, but there’s a hand on Jared’s shoulder a moment later, squeezing gently. It’s silent support, silent encouragement. Jared leans into it a little unconsciously, closes his eyes as he rests his head in his hands.

“Am I a bad boyfriend? Should I have done something different? I just-” Stops, swallows hard. “What did I do wrong?”

“You didn’t do anything wrong.” That’s when Jensen chooses to cut in. Jared doesn’t lift his head, but he stays silent. “I just think you guys weren’t meant to be, is all. It doesn’t have to be anyone’s fault when something like that happens, Jay. You’re still friendly with her, right?”

Jared’s not entirely sure how well that’s going to go, but nods, a little hesitantly. “Yeah. S’what we said.”

“Well, there you go.” Jensen squeezes his shoulder again. “So she’s not mad at you. It’s okay for things to not work out in a relationship like that. Doesn’t mean you’re bad at relationships.”

Jared takes a slow breath, lets the words seep into his skin and go to work soothing his aching heart. Leans into his friend a little more and sighs. “You know you’re the best friend like... ever? I love you a lot.”

“Yeah, I know.” Jensen pulls him in close, arm around his shoulder. It feels safe and warm and Jared lets himself start to relax. “S’what I’m here for, kid.”

_\- 8 -_

Jared’s dogs are chasing each other in circles around his legs, making it exceptionally more difficult to carry his things inside. He doesn’t mind, though; there’s a grin on his face, and Harley and Sadie are letting out happy yips, and everything just seems _good._

“Is this the last of it?” Jensen asks when Jared makes it to the room that’s been newly designated as his own. “Think you’re just about set up in here.”

Jensen’s already started unpacking, and Jared has to grin, because it’s already started looking like home. He sets down the last couple boxes and takes the opportunity to stretch his arms high above his head, feels the pops and cracks in his spine and lets out a pleased sigh. “Yeah, this is it. Guess I’m officially all moved in.”

Not much time has passed since the breakup with Sandy, and maybe this is a direct result of how lonely he’s felt since- but moving in with Jensen makes sense. They work together, they drive together every day, they’re attached at the hip to begin with- it’ll be fun, anyways. He can’t imagine a better situation than living with his best friend, figures it’ll fill the time they spend apart with more of each others’ presence. 

“We should christen it. This moment, I mean.” Jensen purses his lips, starts to wander towards the door. He doesn’t seem bothered as the dogs trot along after him, even reaching down absently to scratch at Sadie’s ears. “Think I’ve got some champagne in the fridge.”

“Yeah?” Jared can’t help the grin on his face. Follows after Jensen eagerly. “Man, just- thank you. For all this. Letting me move in here and stuff. It’s so-”

“It’s nothing,” Jensen says, waves his hand dismissively. He’s just making it to the kitchen, goes straight for the liquor cabinet. “You practically live here, anyways. It’ll be nice to have you around more often.”

“Seriously.” Jared stays close, fixes Jensen with a look until they’re meeting eyes. “I love you for it. Thank you.”

Jensen’s quiet for a long moment, but then he smiles. He’s got the bottle in hand, starts to twist off the protective cap. “Let’s celebrate. To being roommates.”

Jared laughs, ducks as the cork goes flying. “To being roommates,” he agrees a beat late, but it doesn’t matter because Jensen’s reaching for the fancy champagne flutes and he can’t remember being happier in the last few months.

Unpacking can wait.

_\- 9 -_

“Listen. Jen- _Jen._ You gotta _listen._ ”

Jared’s words are slurring a little bit, and Jensen’s smiling- looks like he’s trying not to laugh, actually, and Jared wants to know what’s so funny, like, _right now_ , but then he’s distracted by how green his best friend’s eyes are and the thought drifts away. “You- your eyes’re pretty.”

“Alright, Jared.” Jensen reaches towards him, then, and Jared doesn’t really process it properly until the glass in his hand is being gently tugged away from him. “I think you’ve had enough. M’gonna get you some water, okay?”

The game’s on TV- or it was, at least, Jared’s sure; it’s the news, now, some stuffy-looking man with a tie and wrinkles talking about the weather- and he’s on Jensen’s couch- _their_ couch, now, he reminds himself sternly- having the time of his life. Maybe he’s had a few glasses of that nice whiskey he brought home to celebrate the renewal for season five, and maybe the exact number of glasses is a little higher than it should be, but is he _really_ to blame for that?

“Water.” Jared considers that, furrows his brow. He’s so damn focused on it that he doesn’t really realize Jensen’s left until he’s back again, pressing a bottle of water into his hand. “S’this water?”

“Yeah, Jared, that’s water.” He _definitely_ sounds like he’s trying not to laugh now. “You wanna drink some for me?”

Jared takes another long moment to think about that, then nods seriously and fumbles with the bottle, tries to get it open. It takes a few tries, and he ends up spilling probably too much of it on himself, but he eventually gets the cap off successfully, tosses it aside to worry about later. He brings the bottle to his lips and downs half of it, realizes he’s parched as soon as the water hits his tongue, and how did Jensen _know?_

He’s panting by the time he finishes, drops the bottle and takes a moment to catch his breath. Turns to look at Jensen for a moment before reaching out and grabbing his friend’s face between his hands. “Thank you,” he says with the utmost sincerity. “I love you.”

“Alright, big guy, I think it’s time for bed.” Jensen’s fingers are wrapping around his wrists and tugging his hands away, sets them free a moment later. “C’mon, you’re gonna be a wreck in the morning. Might as well get some rest.”

Jared nods solemnly, because Jensen is always right. “’Kay.”

Sleep is okay. As long as Jensen knows how important he is, he figures not much else matters.

_\- 10 -_

Jared’s still breathing hard, heart pounding, blood rushing in his ears, and he’s pretty sure he’s going to have some nasty bruises to show for it all tomorrow. The bar’s long behind them, though, and he can’t wipe the grin off his face, adrenaline lengthening his strides and boosting his mood.  
“Man, that was awesome,” he’s saying, and there’s excitement in his voice, and he can’t help it. “Bet they thought they were gonna start some shit, didn’t know what they were getting into-”

Jensen’s beside him, looks just as high with the energy of it all, even keeps up with Jared’s quick steps without a word of complaint. “Didn’t know they were messing with the Winchesters, huh?” 

And they’re both a little drunk, and it’s playful, and they just got into a damn bar fight, and everything’s _good._

“I love you so much. Don’t know anyone I’d rather fight some drunk assholes with.” Grins wider and nudges Jensen. “You’re my favourite backup.”

“Yeah, I’d better be.” Jensen snorts, but he’s smiling again a moment later. “Maybe we can pick a different place next time. Not sure they’ll want us back there after that.”

“Does it matter?” Jared gets an arm around the other man’s shoulders, tugs Jensen in close against his side. “Man, we’ve got all of Vancouver to explore. Lots of other bars will take us.”

“Yeah, yeah, alright.” And Jensen laughs, and elbows him, but doesn’t try too hard to dislodge him for real. “Let’s not try to get in too many fights, though, yeah?”

As long as his best friend’s by his side, Jared thinks he wouldn’t care if they got kicked out of every bar in the city. 

He shrugs, anyways, because a happy Jensen is a Jensen who’ll drink with him when they get home.

_\- +1 -_

It’s been more than five years since they met, and Jared doesn’t think he’s ever met someone he loves as much as Jensen Ackles.

It’s happened slowly, sure, starting to smile more, starting to want Jensen to smile back. Coveting the ones that were just for him. Craving his touch and approval and attention. Thinks that maybe he’s always loved Jensen like this without really registering it the way he’s supposed to.

Thinks it’s about damn time Jensen knows it, too.

Jared isn’t scared. Can’t even really think past his heart, the way it’s racing in his chest, beating at the back of his throat like it’s demanding to be set free. The table’s set, and dinner’s laid out, and it’s Chinese takeout but he’s broken out the fancy china and everything, candles lit, and he feels a little silly but he’s going to do this as right as he knows how.

Jensen’s surprised when he gets home, sent off on an errand by Jared an hour earlier, and when their eyes meet, there’s something in his that Jared can’t identify. Tastes like hope and fear and longing. “Jay?”

“I think I’m in love with you.” Steps forward, closes some of the distance between them. It’s too much, too far, and he he moves until he can reach out, catch Jensen’s fingers with his own. Jensen doesn’t pull away and it feels damn good. “I- I think I’ve been for a long time. But I guess I thought it was just how it felt to have someone who was such an incredible best friend.”

He forces himself to look Jensen in the eye, because he’s not sure he can deliver this message properly unless he does. “I love you, Jen. I don’t think I’ll ever stop loving you. I just- I guess I want to know if you love me, too, or if I should try to back off, or move on, or... or-”

And then he can’t speak anymore because Jensen’s lips are stealing the words right out of his mouth, warm and soft and so _goddamn perfect_ and he feels like he’s dreaming, but then he musters up enough concentration to wrap his arms around his best friend and yank him in closer, because if he has this, he’s going to do it right.

An eternity passes between their bodies, civilizations rise and fall and none of it matters. Nothing besides the heat between them, the way Jensen catches Jared’s lip between his teeth and tugs, gentle and insistent, and Jared can’t help a groan, breathes out hard through his nose. Thinks that he could spend forever like this, frozen in a single moment.

Thinks that unfortunately, he needs to breathe, and breaks away, gasping, doesn’t let Jensen go.  
“Yeah, Jay.” 

And Jared’s got no idea what that’s supposed to mean until Jensen gives him another kiss, soft and chase and an echo of what’s in their future. A tiny smile.  
“I love you, too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! <3


End file.
